1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a special receptacle, and more particularly, a receptacle designed for displaying glassware, such as generally cylindrical tumblers, in a retail establishment and for transporting the tumblers from one location to another in a safe and secure manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Receptacles for carrying objects such as tumblers or the like in which the objects being carried can be viewed are known in the art.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,302 there is described a carrier for objects of this type which comprises an open ended sleeve designed to hold the product in position so that it can be displayed. The product is held in place by locking panels hinged to the top and bottom edges of the sleeve and folded inwardly toward the center of the sleeve. These locking panels are provided with elliptical openings therein to snuggly fit about the wall of the generally cylindrical objects. This provides a means of engaging the opposite ends of the objects to hold them contained within the sleeve. The locking panels are held in place by a central strut which engages the inclined panels, and holds them from unfolding. Once assembled, however, the sleeve can not be knocked-down or collapsed for storage, shipment, or reuse, thereby requiring assembly directly from a blank at the point of use, which is extremely inconvenient.
Of almost identical construction is the carrier disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,580, except additional locking tabs are formed in the top panel of the sleeve for holding the walls of the glassware against movement in the carrier. These tabs contact the interior wall of each glass supported by the carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,888, relates to a carrier of the same general type, but is provided with pressure applying panels to rigidify the retained glassware. As with U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,598,302 and 3,854,580, the carrier, once assembled, cannot be collapsed to a substantially flat state.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,721, there is disclosed a receptacle for displaying and transporting glassware, such as generally cylindrical tumblers, which is comprised of an open front and rear rectangular parrallelopiped sleeve having a top wall, a bottom wall and opposite side walls all hinged to each other and a center wall along the interior of the top wall and the bottom wall. The center wall is collapsible within the interior of the receptacle after assembly so as to enable the receptacle to assume a substantially flat state for transportation, storage or reuse. The center wall is maintained in a locked, upright position by means of tabs integrally formed on a panel comprising a first portion of the center wall which engage correspondingly located slots in a panel comprising a second portion of the center wall. The center wall is collapsed by removing the tabs from their respective slots and then pivoting the center wall about certain fold lines.